


Coffee Queen

by imdeansgirl



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, F/F, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7357432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imdeansgirl/pseuds/imdeansgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia is crushing on a patron of the coffee shop she works at. Outside circumstances make it seem as if she's a glutton for punishment.</p><p>(prompt: you give me a different fake name every time you come into starbucks and I just want to know your real name bc ur cute but here I am scrawling “batman” onto your stupid cappuccino)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey! um so hayden/lydia is my all-time real rare pair that i am lowkey a glutton for, so i figured i'd contribute to it. i'm hoping to get out of a writing slump soon and finish some of my longer works, but right now this is what i've got. totally un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine, and my guess is that it's a little bit ugly bc i stayed up way too late writing it. based off a prompt in a tumblr post. enjoy :)

“Okay, miss, and who’ll that be for?”

Without missing a beat or looking up from her phone, the girl says, “Batman.”

Lydia feels stupid.

Here she is, stupidly crushing on this stupidly good-looking girl, and all she wants is to know her stupid real name so she can ask her out already. Properly, like a lady. But here she is, writing Batman on a cappuccino cup. “Alright,” she sighs. “It’ll be right up.”

The girl smiles at her from behind her sunglasses, then grabs her friend by the hand and leads him to their regular table. The two are always in here together, they always come to the coffee shop at the one time no other customers are inside, and they always give equally weird names. She and Scott, who always takes the boy’s order, have been wondering about them and crushing on them since day one when they were “Simon” and “Garfunkel.” Today, it’s “Robin” and “Batman” – and Scott got excited because he thought the boy’s name might really be Robin, but then he heard Batman and deflated like a depressed balloon. “Come on, Scotty,” she says, elbowing him as they both work the cappuccino machine. “One of us has to ask them.”

Scott snorts. “It’s not gonna be me,” he says. “I get anxiety attacks when ordering _pizza_ , for god’s sakes.”

That’s true. It’s why their local pizza shop knows Lydia by name and not Scott. She sighs and leans on the counter. “Well, maybe we just need to move on,” she suggests. “This has been going on for a while, and neither of us has worked up the nerve to say anything.”

“So, you’re saying man up or grow up?” he asks.

She reaches up and pulls her hair up into a bun as the cappuccino fills the cup. “No. I would never say that because that’s sexist _and_ demeaning all in one go.”

He sticks his tongue out and turns, calling out for a Robin. The boy gets up, smiles, and takes the cup from Scott with a quiet ‘thanks.’ Scott mumbles something in return and comes back, leaning against the counter with his head in his hands. “Why on earth can’t I say anything cool ever?” he whines.

Lydia reaches over and pats him on the back. “It’s okay, Scott. One day you will aspire to my level of coolness.” She sighs and puts the lid on the cappuccino cup. “Gotta go, cappuccino for Batman.”

\--

Normally, Lydia Martin isn’t… shy.

She was president of her senior class. Not to mention prom queen, student ambassador, and head of the LGBTQA+ Club and the GSA at her high school since freshman year. Moving to the big city and going to college, too, was no problem with her extroverted personality and flamboyant attitude. But something about this girl…

Something about this girl makes her knees weak. Maybe it’s the crinkles around her eyes, or the daisy-patterned shorts, or her red lipstick. Or maybe it’s her tan skin, or black hair that fades into pink, or the heart tattoo on her wrist. Or the snarky phone case – ‘Coffee First, Please.’ Or maybe it’s her big black sunglasses she always wears.

Or maybe it’s just everything about her.

And it makes Lydia feel… weak. And shy. And everything she pretty much isn’t. Plus, their manager, Derek, has pretty much stressed to hell and back that they aren’t supposed to flirt with customers. (Of course, that was a long time ago – pretty much before he met, fell in love with, and married one of the customers of the shop, Scott’s best friend Stiles. Now, he kind of doesn’t have room to talk.) So what the hell is she supposed to do with these feelings?

Especially when her crush won’t even tell Lydia her name? 

She sighs as the door jingles open, and Stiles comes into the shop. “Hey-o, Lyds,” he says, smiling. “What’s cooking, good-looking?”

Ever since he got married, Stiles’ flirting has become less annoying and more comforting. Since he knows she’ll never reciprocate and she knows he’ll never want her to, their friendship has become a stable part of Lydia’s life.

She smiles back. “Not much.” She nods to the camera around his neck. “Get any work done today?”

“Not much.” He sighs and sits on the stool nearest to the door. “Got a couple photographs, but none usable for the magazine. However…” He holds it up then turns it on, and shows the photo to Lydia. “If Kira and Isaac need wedding photos, I am their man.”

The photos of Kira and Isaac really are cute, and, if the ring on Kira’s finger is any indication, they’ll need the wedding photos sooner than not. Lydia pouts. “They’re so cute,” she says. “I want to be that cute.”

Stiles just sighs and admires his own wedding ring. “You’ll get your day, Martin,” he says dreamily. “You’ll get your day.”

What a load of crap.

\--

They’re back.

This time, Kira and Isaac sit at the end of the counter, speaking in baby talk and feeding each other chocolate cake. Scott fakes gagging. Lydia smiles and rolls her eyes.

The door opens and the girl comes waltzing in, the boy trailing behind her. They smile at Scott and Lydia and then walk over to the menu, pretending to take their time. (Chances are, they’ll both get cappuccinos. They always do.) Scott clears his throat and attempts to get Isaac’s and Kira’s attention, but by the time they look up, the boy has already come over to order.

He orders the same thing as he does every time they come in, and when Scott asks his name, he smiles in that cheeky way that infuriates Lydia but turns Scott on, and says, “Bert.”

Then the girl comes up, and god damn it, Lydia is so tired of it, so she orders and Lydia snaps, “Let me guess – Ernie?”

The girl just smiles and, behind her, the boy snickers. “You must be psychic,” she says.

They pay and go sit down, at the same table they sit at every time, and Lydia hurries over to Kira and Isaac. “That’s them,” she hisses, and they both pause in chewing and then nod in understanding.

“You’re right,” Isaac says, through a mouthful of chocolate cake. “They’re way too pretty, and I would be way too intimidated to talk to them.”

Kira nods vigorously, swallows, and says, “Agreed.”

It takes all she has not to just stare at them. “You two… are professional models,” she says. “You’re both pretty for _a living_.”

They both nod. “That’s when you know they’re _really_ pretty,” Isaac says, pointing a fork at her. Kira nods and goes back to her cake.

Lydia watches the boy and girl for a moment longer before heading back to make the cappuccino.

\--

“Voldemort? Cappuccino for Voldemort?”

Voldemort. Freaking Voldemort.

The girl gets up and saunters over, and accepts her cappuccino. “They call me He Who Must Not Be Named, you know,” she says.

Lydia frowns and lets her nostrils flare up. “Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself,” she says. Although annoyed, she has to admit – this whole ‘having a conversation with the person you like’ thing is certainly growing on her.

The girl smiles and nods, impressed. “Harry Potter fan?” she asks.

“I don’t give out cute tidbits like that to girls I don’t know the name of,” Lydia quips.

The girl laughs. “Touché.” Then she goes to sit back down with her friend, and almost immediately launches into conversation, in voices too low for Lydia to hear.

Lydia sighs and shuffles towards Scott, who’s pretending to clean the counter while secretly staring at them. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s impolite to stare?” she asks, glaring at the side of his head.

“Of course,” he says. “My mother is a lovely woman. She also told me to savor the little moments, which I can only assume meant moments like when the world’s hottest people are sitting in your place of employment and you have free range to stare at them.”

She hums. “I’m guessing she also told you not to count your chickens before they’re hatched,” she says, “which I can only assume meant chickens that might not even be gay. In fact.” She drops her voice to a stage whisper. “They might be dating each other.”

Scott groans and allows his head to drop all the way down to the counter. Lydia just pats him on the back and goes about checking their stock.

\--

“Kira, don’t lean on the counter like that. You’re incredibly klutzy and could easily knock over the coffee machine.”

Kira leans back and raises her hands sheepishly. “Sorry,” she says. “But are they?”

Lydia pretends she didn’t hear the question the first time. “Are who what?”

“Are the hottest people alive here yet?”

Just then, the door opens behind her. She spins on her heel and covers her mouth. “They are now,” Scott mutters, before marching up to the counter and smiling. “Hello, how can I help you?”

They go through the motions. The names today are “Dumb” and “Dumber.” Lydia feels like slamming her head against a wall.

As they serve and satisfy the customers, Kira watches with a curious frown. Then, as Lydia and Scott amble up to her and sigh, she says, “So they’ve never told you their real names?”

“No,” Scott sighs, putting his head down on his forearms. “Most unfortunately, that’s the game.”

Kira pauses for a moment, then offers, “I could stalk them for you.”

“No!” Scott yelps. The boy and girl look over. Kira, Scott, and Lydia almost instantly turn away; no one of the three of them will look at them. They wait until they go back to their own conversation before resuming. “No!” he whispers. “Are you crazy?” He pauses to look at Lydia, who’s frowning. “Lydia, tell me you’re not considering this.”

She lets the silence drag out a little before sighing and slumping over. “No, you’re right,” she says. “Stalking is discouraged in New York.”

With that, Kira throws up her arms. “I tried. Let the record show that I tried.”

“Record gets it,” Scott says, reaching over the counter and patting her on the arm. “Record is appreciative.”

“Record is tired of this bullshit,” Lydia mutters.

\--

The next day, only the boy comes in.

Lydia and Scott both blink in surprise. Moments after his entrance, Scott scrambles to the counter. Lydia pretends to be busy cleaning, but listens intently.

He orders the same thing as always – except, today it’s to go. “And who will that be for?” Scott asks. Lydia even pauses mid-mop. It’s the moment they’ve all been waiting for. She considers calling Isaac, Kira, and Stiles in on a conference call just so that everyone knows it’s happening.

“Cher.”

It’s not happening. Never mind, nothing to see. Everyone go home. She continues mopping, but now a little more dejectedly.

“Left Sonny at home today,” he jokes. Scott gives a half-hearted laugh.

He makes the product and hands it over. The boy gives him money before quickly scurrying out of the store.

Just as Scott opens the register to put the money in, Lydia sees something among the green. “Wait a second,” she says, before grabbing the money out of his hand and rifling through it. In the end, she comes up with a crisp one – a New York phone number is scrawled across it, lazily. They both peer at it, Lydia curious and Scott seemingly dazed. “Scott,” she says. “Do you think it’s his number?” She looks up to see Scott zoned out. She snaps and he stumbles a little. “Scott.”

He frowns and looks at it again. “I don’t know,” he says, honestly.

Well. “Only one way to find out,” Lydia says. She rifles into her pocket, puts a one in the register, and heads to the back room with the number in hand. Scott sprints after her.

As soon as she finds the phone in Scott’s bag, she puts the number in and texts. “How does ‘Hey, who is this’ sound?”

Scott’s biting on his lip. Which, as she knows from a year of living with him, is a nervous habit. “Um, I don’t know,” he says. “Suddenly, I forget how humans properly communicate.”

She rolls her eyes and presses send. “I’ll communicate for you,” she promises. He smiles. In the same breath, they get a text. She opens it and scans it. “He wants to know if this is ‘the guy from the coffee shop.’” She grins mischievously and texts back, as Scott groans and puts his head in his hands.

Moments later, as Scott’s pacing and Lydia’s examining her manicure, he texts back. “He said he realized too late that writing his number on a dollar might not work, but he was too chicken shit to ask you out.”

Scott stops in his tracks. “He did not say that,” he says, blinking.

“He did. I don’t say stuff like ‘chicken shit’ unless it’s a direct quote, Scott.” Scott laughs, weakly. “I’m gonna ask him his name.”

“Good,” Scott says, glancing out the door before sitting down where he’s standing. “I can hardly breathe, the anticipation is killing me.”

Exaggerator. Lydia smiles and sends a message before going back to her nails. She doesn’t have much time to tend to them, though, as she gets a speedy text back. Scott stills. She opens up the message and scans the words. “Are you ready to hear it?” she asks. After a moment, Scott nods. She smiles. “His name is Liam.”

She watches as Scott mulls the name over in his head and mouths it. “Liam?” he asks. She nods. “Like One Direction?”

Rolling her eyes, she assures, “I’m guessing he’s heard that one a lot.”

He makes grabby hands for the phone and she gives it to him, before going out to see if there are any customers.

\--

Liam starts coming in a lot by himself. They haven’t seen the girl in a while, and although Lydia feels almost worried for her, she pushes it aside for Scott’s happiness. They just smile at each other at first, but then, after they go on their first date (which Lydia knows about, because that night she has the house for herself, so she invites over Kira and puts on a face mask), they start kissing every time Liam comes in for coffee. Just light pecks, but it’s enough to get Scott looking dreamy-eyed and Lydia on the verge of gagging.

A few weeks into Scott and Liam’s relationship, the girl comes back. She looks annoyed when she enters, in a gust of daisy-printed shorts and graphic t-shirt and big, blocky sunglasses. Stiles is there, the first time he’s seen them, and he whistles. “Scott, _that’s_ your boyfriend?” he whispers. Scott grins and nods. “Good work, my man. Good work.”

Scott grins when he goes up to take Liam’s order, and Liam grins too. But then he glances over his shoulder, and grin turns into a grimace. “I’ll take my regular,” he says. “Under the name ‘Judas.’”

“And I’ll take _my_ regular,” the girl says from behind him. “Under the name Jesus.”

Ouch.

Lydia and Scott hurry to make the orders, while Stiles just stares at them. Scott calls for both when they’re done, and the girl comes to get both, her nose upturned. “I don’t get it,” Scott whispers to Stiles and Lydia as she goes back to her table. She sits and they don’t talk. “Is she cheating on him with another coffee shop?”

“I’m thinking he’s cheating on her with you, bud,” Stiles says. Scott frowns.

“Well, at least two of us are happy,” Lydia mutters.

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Alright,” he says loudly, “that’s it.” He stalks over to their table, and clears his throat until Liam and the girl look up at him. “Hi,” he says. “I’m Stiles.” He puts out his hand to Liam, who shakes it, and then to the girl, who does the same. He turns to Liam. “You might know me from being the best friend of the guy you’re fucking.” Liam makes an o shape with his mouth. Stiles turns to the girl now. “And you! Well, I don’t know you. But see my friend back there?” He points and they all look over. Lydia gulps. “That’s my other best friend! And I don’t know about you, but she is a _huge_ homosexual, and she would like to get to know you in the way homosexuals get to know other homosexuals. And she has been wanting to do that since… forever! And normally, she would ask you out herself, but apparently, something about you makes her all gooey inside.” He drops to his knees and takes the girl by the hand. “So please,” he says. “Not that I have any say over you at all, but _please,_ for my sanity and for hers, go fuck my friend.”

There’s a pause, where everyone stills. Then the girl stands, rips her hand out of Stiles’, smooths down her pants, and then saunters over towards Lydia. Scott scrambles to find something – anything – to keep himself busy, and eventually decides on dropping to the floor. Behind the counter, Lydia kicks him.

“Hi,” the girl says, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head. Damn, her eyes are a gorgeous brown – almost a coffee-color. She smiles. Lydia smiles back. “I hear that you are a huge homosexual?”

Oh, God, why is Stiles her friend? “Yes, that’d be me,” she sighs. “Please excuse Stiles. He’s a bit deficient, but his husband’s the manager here, so we can’t really kick him out.”

The girl snickers. “I get it,” she says. Then she sighs and looks down. “Look, my friend Liam and I had this deal going on. We were both crushing on the cute baristas, and we both wanted to ask you out at the same time. But I was too scared, because you can never really tell if someone’s a lesbian or not, and if they’re not, they usually get freaked out and hate you forever, but.” She sighs again, brushes her hair back over her shoulder. “Eventually, he got tired of the game and asked Scott out.”

“I can see why he tired of the game,” Lydia says, crossing her arms.

The girl blushes and clears her throat. “Anyway, I wanted to know if you’d go out with me Friday night.”

Lydia smiles. She grabs a pen from her apron and a napkin, scribbles her number, name, and a little heart down, and then folds it up. Before she passes it across the counter, she says, “Promise to give me the right name this time?”

The girl laughs. “Promise,” she says. She even crosses her heart.

She slides the napkin across the table and offers her hand. “Lydia,” she says.

The girl shakes it. “Hayden.”


	2. epilogue

Epilogue:

Everyone claps as the best man, another model, sits down after making his speech. “I need coffee,” Hayden mutters, and Lydia laughs.

“You need coffee as often as I need alcohol.”

Hayden frowns, but nods. “Fair point.”

A slow song comes on then, and Isaac smiles and leads Kira out onto the dance floor. “They really are a beautiful couple,” Liam says, from beside Hayden.

Scott nods. “They’re kind of paid to be,” he says. They all pause for a moment before he turns and offers a hand to Liam. “Dance?” he asks. Liam grins and follows him out onto the floor to dance.

Lydia turns to Hayden, who shakes her head. “I don’t dance.”

“And I don’t plan on getting this Maid of Honor’s dress dirty,” Lydia says. “But I’m willing to sneak out onto the terrace anyway.”

Hayden grins and wiggles her eyebrows before standing and grabbing her girlfriend’s hand. Then they both sneak their way out onto the terrace.

When they slide the French doors shut, it gets much quieter outside. “Finally, a place to think,” Hayden mutters as they both lean against the rail. She glances over at Lydia and bumps her with her shoulder. “What are you thinking?” she murmurs.

Lydia shrugs. “How I’m in a room full of models, and you still manage to be the prettiest one here.” Hayden ducks her head and blushes, muttering something about Lydia being too good for her. Lydia simply shrugs and puts an arm around her waist. “You know, I’m glad you came into my Starbucks all those months ago, Batman.”

Hayden chuckles before tipping her head to rest on Lydia’s shoulder. “And I’m glad Stiles was willing to get down on his knees and declare your homosexuality to me, Lyds.” In response, Lydia just groans. That story is still a sore spot. They stay like that for a while, until Hayden says, “Lydia?”

“Hm?”

She feels Hayden swallow and take a sharp breath. “I love you.”

Lydia smiles. “I love you too.”


End file.
